


With You

by bleederdoll



Series: With You [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, Pridecember, pridecember2018, ygopridecember2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-05 13:52:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleederdoll/pseuds/bleederdoll
Summary: A series of prompts written for Pridecember 2018 for my favorite ship of this series. These drabbles are written post-DSOD and explore the relationship between the two as they go about their daily lives. In no particular order.





	1. Tattoo

The bath’s waters were warm to the touch. Perhaps leaning more towards being a little too warm, but Atem didn’t really mind much. He grabs the square bath bomb from the counter and gently drops it into the water. It immediately starts to bubble and spin, releasing the soft citrusy fragrance it had been hiding. The monarch watches with fascination as gold flakes were released into the waters followed by a sudden color of blue. Bathing had become more unique now, it seems. Atem shakes his head, a smile on his lips before he starts stripping himself of the clothes he wore.

Now completely naked, Atem places them down on the counter then slowly makes his way towards the tub. The water had now turned a beautiful turquoise hue. Little golden stars were floating in the water and if he looked carefully enough, he could see the golden glitter shimmer under the lights. Slowly, Atem got into the bath, releasing a sigh when he was fully in. His eyes flutter closed as he lay there in silence, with only the sound of the water sloshing around to keep him company. The warmth was welcoming compared to the chilly weather outside.

After a long moment of silence and random thought, the door to the bathroom opened with a soft creek, but Atem didn’t open his eyes to see who it was. He didn’t need to, after all it could only be one person. The door closed. Their steps were heavy as they approached his bathing self and without so much of an apology for interrupting his much-needed self-indulgence, they sat themselves at the edge of the tub. _Waiting._ However, Atem did not open his eyes to peer up at the other; instead he opted to simply slide further into the tub until his chin touched the water and the scent of orange and lime filled his nostrils.

He sneezes.

Ruby irises flutter open, a frown finding a home on his lips, yet it did not remain there for long. A pale hand was in the water. Long fingers were lazily moving back and forth creating the smallest of waves. He let his eyes follow the limb up to its owner whose attention was to the bath, and not at him. “Thank you.” Atem says, softly. The CEO simply nodded back but did not turn his azure gaze towards the once monarch. Atem in turn seemed content with this, even starting to rub his arms with the colored water; marveling at how soft his skin felt because of the bath bomb. He proceeds to rub his sides then stomach. His hands made their way down his body, rubbing harder on his legs than any other part of him. Every inch of him that was in the water, was now soft to the touch and it amazed him that a small square thing could do so much.

With each movement of his limbs the golden glitter and stars would slosh around the tub. At times sticking to his skin making him wonder it they would stay on him even after he had washed up. Kaiba didn’t seem at all bothered that Atem was moving around so much, or that the waves from his movement caused the water to at time’s wet the tips of the CEO’s sleeve.

Finally, when Atem had rubbed his body completely of the oils from the bath and the water had cooled far too much to be enjoyable, he pulled the stopper out. The male sits up, reaching out for the sides of the tub for balance and when he was about to stand up, he was stopped. A hand was on his right wrist. Atem was about to voice a question as to why he had been stopped, but the brunette beat him to it.

“An eye?”

Atem blinks. Once, then twice. His gaze then went down to his wrist where Kaiba’s focus lay. “Yes. The Eye of Ra.” The tri-colored hair replies, matter-of-factly.

Kaiba’s attention went to his other wrist. “And this one?”

“Eye of Horus.” Again, the same tone.

The brunette makes a sound, one that Atem could only put as confirmation or one that took note of what he said, then he lets go of the man’s limb. Atem stayed put to where he was kneeling in the tub where the water was now just below his bottom and continuing to lower. “Do they surprise you?” He asks a little louder, just enough to be heard over the draining water. Kaiba stayed quiet for a moment, his gaze having fallen onto the pharaoh with an impassive expression that Atem was far too used to seeing but knew that there was always more. Kaiba’s eyes showed exactly what he was feeling, not his face. It appeared, at least to Atem, that the brunette was struggling to figure out how to voice his many thoughts down to words, but it was a fleeting emotion within his azure hues.

“Why?”

“Protection.”

“Hn.”


	2. Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of prompts for Pridecember 2018. I wrote this for the love of mine, because he gives me the greatest of inspiration and he enjoys this. I suppose I should apologize for the outcome, but it was all I could do.

He should have known by the early signs that this was how it would all turn out. That he, a god-king that had saved the world numerous times, would die because of his love for just one individual. Yet he did not predict that Kaiba would share the same affliction that was now taking his very breath away. Oh, how the Gods mocked them.

It had started out simple, truthfully. Atem had been exploring his options now that he had returned to the land of the living. It was new. It was exciting, but overall it was anxiety inducing. His destiny had been fulfilled and so there was little to nothing else that the pharaoh was meant to do on this plane of existence. Atem had been left with very little instructions from the Gods, and while his friends were happy to help him, Atem couldn’t decide on which path to take.

Kaiba, however, _did._ They met up in the afternoon, chatted about everything and nothing at the same time. Atem left sometime later feeling like he had some sort of plan for his new life in Domino. A plan that he was happy to start, but that was also around the time he started to taste something in his mouth. A floral taste. The pharaoh ignored it nonetheless, for there were things to get done and little time to worry about the lingering aftertaste of whatever he may have drank or eaten.

Several weeks would then pass with very little issue, except for the floral taste that would pop up nearly after every time he met up with the CEO. Atem never brought it up to anyone; not even to Yugi, but the taste persisted even after he started to not drink or eat anything during their outings.

One evening when Atem had been drinking heavily with his friends, he had excused himself to the bathroom where he became the best friends with the toilet. Usually the monarch could hold his liquor better, but the lack of a proper meal had made it a bit harder for him. Again, the flowery taste made itself known to him and without warning, he puked. Most of it landed inside the toilet’s bowl, while some had sadly ended up on the rim. He blinks his ruby hues of the few tears that had escaped, attempting to focus them on the mess he made.

In the goo of his saliva and the vodka he had drank, was a red rose petal.

Atem would later blame what he saw on the amount of drinking he had done that night. _It was a hallucination,_ he said to himself. It was nothing to worry about or even bring up. Then it happened again after Atem had met up with Kaiba. This time there were more red petals. He didn’t puke them up like he did the first time, but simply coughed them out because his throat felt itchy. And unlike the other times, Atem started to grow concerned at this phenomenon. Yet, what was he to do about it?

Yugi was the first person he confided in on what was going on, though he kept the details about himself being the one afflicted. The teen didn’t need to worry for him, especially when he was working on a game to reveal at a local indie convention. Yugi didn’t seem to know what Atem was asking about, but he suggested to consult Anzu about it. Perhaps she would know.

A few days later Atem called up Anzu. She was quiet as he listened to his account of a friend who was coughing up flower petals and wondered if she knew of what ailed them. The woman was quiet for a moment longer to the point that Atem wondered if the call had cut off because of her being in New York, but then she spoke.

“Hanahaki Disease.”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s the flower disease. No one really knows where it comes from, but pretty much you cough up flowers until they either die from it or whatever is growing in their body is removed.”

Silence. That was all he could really do. Thankfully, Anzu didn’t seem to question his silence as something to worry about, but more her to continue her explanation of the disease. After about a good ten minutes of talking about it, they changed subjects; talking about the weather, her schooling, the dances she was going to be participating for this holiday season. Atem could only reply with a small word here and there, a chuckle and maybe a witty remark, yet in the back of his mind he was worried. Was he going to die?

More time passed. Atem still didn’t know how he was supposed to find a cure for something that was extremely rare and in most of the cases of said disease, the patients died. His affliction had also progressed in that amount of time as well. He now was coughing more often, and the rose petals were getting progressively harder to hide from people in his daily life. There were only so many lies he could give before his sickness became noticed. But there was some solace in all of this.

His outings with Kaiba were becoming more enjoyable. They talked about more personal subjects. They learned so much about each other that Atem was sure he was getting somewhere with the man in terms of their friendship. They were getting so close. Intimately in some ways, but Atem also felt there was a distance he would never be able to breach.

And that caused pain.

Blood was the first sign he was given that his time on his plane of existence was coming to an end. Atem was dying, and there was no certainty that he would be returning to the duat where his friends and family of the past were waiting for him. He wipes the blood from his lips and throws the bloody tissue down the toilet. He flushed it all down: the red rose petals, the thorns and his own blood. Atem set to work on writing a letter to Yugi and each of their friends. He made calls between each coughing attack that brought up more petals, thorns and a few stems. Always there was blood in varying quantities. When everything was set up to his exact specifications, the monarch left the house with his identification card and a bit of money for a cab.

A cab he would be taking down to the office of Kaiba Corporation.

There was one more job he had to do, because if this was truly his last time to be alive Atem might as well just let the cat out of the bag. His heart drummed in his chest so loud he could practically hear it in his ears. The door to Kaiba’s office never appeared so looming to him, but now that he was here with his decision made up, Atem felt small. It was irritating. The floral taste returned, giving him the hurried courage to open the doors without a second thought.

The sight before him however left him gasping.

Kaiba had collapsed on the floor with papers scattered all around him. Blood pooling around his head. The always neat office was in disarray as though a struggle had happened. Atem rushes towards him. He kneels beside Kaiba, lifting the man’s head to rest it on his lap. A cough rattled through the monarch’s chest with a force that left him breathless and the room spinning. He peers down at his hands afterward; there was more than just Kaiba’s blood that stained them now. The red rose petals stuck to the sanguine liquid as though it were glue.

But there was one more thing he noticed. A large white petal was sticking on the back of both his pinky and ring fingers. Atem was confused at first, then slowly realization took hold of him. His red hues went wide, quickly darted down to the man whose head was on his lap, barely breathing.

“No, no, no…” He says softly in disbelief. “Do not do this!”

Pain. That was all he felt. In his chest where the roots took hold. In his head where it went blank with desperation. In his heart where everything had gone so very wrong. Atem shook the body of the person he cared for far too much. Kaiba needed to be alive. He needed to hear his words as he screamed them so loud that the Gods would surely hear him. He confessed to the body of a loved one until his throat went hoarse from coughing and screaming. He yelled for the jackal god to bring Kaiba back to him. He howled until he could howl no longer for everything grew dark and still.

They said love was beautiful and surely it must be true, but when they found the two duelists there was nothing but magnificent horror to see.


	3. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This took me a while. Sadly I have been a bit busy. I apologize.
> 
> I always see people show Kaiba being obsessed with Atem...but what if there is just a bit more to it?

What Kaiba felt for Atem was always put forward. They never were hidden from the pharaoh or from anyone if one was honest. Of course, more intimate feelings were kept in private during such public displays…but Kaiba’s need to challenge him remained. It was a constant battle between the two. Pride. The need to shine. The want to conquer one’s foes. Atem had always felt that same thrill when they dueled against each other or bantered about certain subjects, yet there were also times where he became irritated.

There was no end with Kaiba’s wants for his attention. The uncanny ability of knowing where he was, the studies Atem had put himself in and even where he worked; often this made him wonder if his group of friends were right. Kaiba was obsessed with Atem. There was no denying it, though he was sure the CEO wouldn’t put it in such words, but it was there plain as day. Personally, the duelist didn’t see an issue with it. There was something about being wanted that had an appeal. Not to mention that during his time as ruler of Egypt the people thought of him as a God. They worshipped him as such.

However, as he looked down at the man who lay underneath him, he couldn’t help but feel that there was more to it than the want to be adored. There was something about keeping that person around for as long as possible. Never far. Always close by. There was also the incredible need to make sure that others knew who they belonged to.

He was only mildly surprised at what he had done to the man; who was willing and watchful with those azure eyes of his. Atem had grabbed a black marker somewhere during their throws of kisses and grinding. He lifted the shirt Kaiba wore just enough to expose the skin of his stomach and top of his waist. Then he started to write on that pale skin of his.

Atem had written his name in hieroglyphics.

**Author's Note:**

> duat - Egyptian Afterlife


End file.
